Welcome to the first post in my ‘Rescued from the Curb’ series, showcasing furniture and other home decor that I have found on the streets of NYC, and rescued from the garbage trucks. Its actually quite a sport in NYC, my parents used to put things out on the sidewalk in Soho, and then run upstairs to watch how long it took to disappear. Sometimes it was gone just in the time it took them to take the elevator up 6 floors!

The timing is different in all neighborhoods, but in mine, I’ve found Wednesday nights to be the bulk trash night. Last Wednesday was a really bumper night, and if I was stronger I might have carried home many more pieces! Unfortunately, I was alone, and only had one free hand since Basel and I were out for our evening walk. So all I could bring home was one bookcase, but it was a pretty awesome one!! As you can see from the before pictures, it was a little bit eclectic. (To say the least!) You’ll notice the random paint colors on the edge of each shelf. Very strange…

I think I could have lived with the funny edge colors, but those gold accents just HAD to go! A quick trip to the Benjamin Moore store, a quart can of Semi-Gloss Black, and my shelf had a new life!!

It ended up being the PERFECT size for this short wall, in my hallway, which made me really excited. And it held a lot of books and other things, which frees up space in my larger bookshelf in my living room, to hold more necessary items. Who knew one small bookshelf could make such a difference in my organizational life! (Basel insisted on posing next to the shelf he had helped carry home. He considered himself the Scale Dachshund for the photo.)

Check back next Thursday for another cool piece I Rescued from the Curb! (Too cheesy? Sorry…)

One Response to Rescued from the Curb – Bookshelf

Love this I see I’m not the only that comes across quality things.I just found a nice bookshelf outside of my dorms. My GF says that I have homeless qualities because I find things in the trash, unintentionally, and take em’ home. Good turn around on the bookshelf.